France’s Félix LEBRUN will arrive at the 2026 European Championships in Ljubljana with one major ambition still to fulfil – winning the European Men’s Singles title.
At just 20, LEBRUN has already built an impressive medal collection on the biggest international stages, including two Olympic bronze medals, World Championships medals and European gold. However, the European Singles crown is still missing, making Ljubljana an important target for the French star.
“Of course, the European title is always a big title, but especially for me, at the European Championships I have never done it, so it is a big target. I will try to play my best there. I know there are a lot of players who can aim for the title, but I will try to reach my goals – to play my best and to win the title at the end,” said LEBRUN.
Since the previous European Championships in Linz in 2024, LEBRUN believes he has continued to develop both his game and his physical level.
“I think the area that I developed the most compared to 2024 is my whole approach to the game. Physically and in my form, I also keep improving.”
The circumstances surrounding Ljubljana will also be different from those he faced two years ago. The 2024 European Championships came shortly after an extraordinary Olympic campaign in Paris, where LEBRUN won bronze in Men’s Singles and helped France secure another bronze in the Men’s Team event.
“I’m also more prepared for the Europeans because last time it was just after the Olympics. It was an amazing moment for me, but there were also a lot of things to do. This year I will try to be ready and play my best during the whole competition.”
His build-up to Ljubljana has not been completely straightforward. An injury forced him to miss the recent event in Macao, but LEBRUN has returned to full-intensity training and believes he has enough time to regain his best form before the Championships.
“I had a bit of an injury before that did not allow me to play in Macao, but I’m getting fully better now. I can practise with full intensity. I still have 15 days to get myself back to my best form, and I feel like I’m on a good path, so I will just keep working on that.”
A relatively light competition schedule before Ljubljana could even work in his favour.
“I will not have so many competitions before going to the Europeans, but I think it will make me even more hungry for the matches and for the tournament.”
LEBRUN’s European record already includes Men’s Doubles gold at the 2024 European Championships in Linz and gold with France at the 2025 European Team Championships in Zadar. He also won Men’s Doubles bronze at the 2022 European Championships in Munich and team bronze in Malmö in 2023. At the 2023 European Games, he claimed Men’s Singles gold and Team bronze, while earlier this year he added bronze at the Europe Top 16.
His achievements extend well beyond the continental stage. Alongside his two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, LEBRUN was part of France’s silver-medal-winning team at the 2024 World Championships in Busan, won Men’s Doubles bronze in Doha in 2025 and added Team bronze at the 2026 World Championships in London.
With an already decorated career behind him at the age of 20, Ljubljana now offers LEBRUN the opportunity to add the major European Singles title that remains absent from his collection.
